Happy Halloween!!!!

Here are some pictures of our spooky front porch. I'm hoping for lots of trick-or-treaters - or at least enough to give away the 10 pounds of Halloween candy I bought! I hope everyone has a fun and spooky day! :)

the nuts and bolts of life...

What started out as a funny little glitch, soon mutated into a major computer malfunction... and I found myself going though serious blogging withdrawal! Anyway, 2 weeks and $200 later (!), I get to read what everyone else is up to again and post pictures of my Montessori life :) Kind of... my mother-in-law is staying at our house this week, so that's definitely been keeping me on my toes and off the computer!




Here are some pictures of two very real, useful lessons the children have been working on in the classroom. This first lesson is called "nuts and bolts" and is kind of a twist on the opening bottles lesson - literally! The child lines up all the bolts across the top of a felt, and then he figures out which nut will twist onto each bolt.







This next lesson is called "the little spill." The child pours a pitcher of packing peanuts onto the floor (I've used other materials like popcorn and noodles, but the peanuts are nice because they don't bounce all over the place.) The children get quite a thrill out of pouring something onto the floor on purpose!













Next, the child uses a broom to sweep the packing peanuts into the blue square on the floor. Blue squares (made out of blue tape) are always sweeping destinations in our classroom - I think they can be found in most Montessori classrooms. When presenting this lesson to the child, I always keep the broom in front of my body, and I make short, purposeful sweeps that I step along with. I don't know if that description makes sense, but this is different than the way I had always swept my floor at home... instead of pulling the broom toward yourself, you move with the broom and therefore have more coordination and control...






Anyway! The child uses a small brush to sweep the peanuts into the dustpan. Since they're not really trash, she uses her fingers to put the peanuts back into the pitcher.







Finally, for those of you who are interested, here's a picture of my new haircut:

The nuts and bolts of my life: a functional computer, good hair, and proper sweeping technique! :)

popcorn balls...

...the best you've ever tasted! I promise! I'm really excited to share this recipe because it is so good. It was passed down to me from my best friend's mom, who got it from her mom - both of whom are fabulous cooks. I've been craving these popcorn balls for about a month, and I finally made a batch today! Joy! I've also made this recipe with kids- they love squishing the gooey popcorn into shapes. :)



Ingredients:

1 c sugar
1/3 c light corn syrup
1/3 c water
1/4 c butter
1 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla

~2 quarts of popcorn (1/3 c unpopped kernels)















I like to make my own popcorn on the stove - it's actually not as tricky as I thought it would be. Heat a few tablespoons of cooking oil in a stockpot (I think mine is 6 or 7 quarts) and throw in a few popcorn kernels. When one of them pops, pour in 1/3 cup kernels and cover the pot with the lid. Shake the pot every once and awhile until the kernels have stopped popping - it only takes a minute or two.




To make the caramel sauce, put the sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, and salt into a small sauce pan and boil it until it reaches the "soft ball" stage. To test this, drizzle some of the sauce into a bowl of cold water - if it makes a soft ball, it's ready. If it spreads apart, it needs to boil longer. It has to be gooey enough to get the popcorn to stick together. At this point, stir in the vanilla.





Next, pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn and stir until it seems evenly coated. Let the mixture cool until you're able to touch it without burning your fingers.









Now comes the squishing part! Coat your hands with butter, so the popcorn doesn't stick. Then, start shaping the popcorn into balls, or whatever shape you have in mind. If it doesn't stick together, it may need to cool off a little more. Let the popcorn balls harden on waxed paper or aluminum foil, and wrap them in cellophane. Enjoy!

matching objects to pictures

I stayed after school just a little later than usual today because I was setting up this super cute, object/picture matching lesson. It's sort of a hybrid of ideas. The first idea came from Laura at My Montessori Journey. During circle time this week, I've been building a jack-o-lantern out of felt on the felt-board and singing (to the tune of "The more we get together..."):

once I had a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin,
once I had a pumpkin with no face at all.
with no eyes and no nose and no mouth and no teeth.
once I had a pumpkin with no face at all!

so, I made a jack-o-lantern, a jack-o-lantern, a jack-o-lantern,
so I made a jack-o-lantern with a big, funny face.
with big eyes and a big nose and a big mouth with big teeth.
so I made a jack-o-lantern with a big, funny face!
Anyway, I don't teach tomorrow, so I feel sort of like a fairy godmother... my little students are going to be so delighted and surprised when they discover this darling lesson tucked under their beloved felt-board in the morning! :)

The second part of my idea is from KidsSoup. I cut the pumpkin shapes out of orange construction paper, and then I glued them onto white paper (3" x 3" squares). I drew on their stems and jack-o-lantern faces with green and black markers. Finally, I laminated the whole works and cut the individual cards out (this is the "picture" part).




Next, I cut corresponding shapes (the "object" part) out of orange, green, and black felt. Here's a photo of how I set everything up on the tray.









This is how I would present the lesson to the child. I would set out all the possible mouths, noses, and eyes next to the felt pumpkin. Then, I would select a picture card and create a matching felt jack-o-lantern face.

the almost-readers...

What do you do when a child knows all her letter sounds and symbols, successfully identifies the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in the words she hears, and is teetering on the verge of actual reading? You practice, practice, practice... and constantly search for ways to keep all that practicing fun and exciting!

I played this game yesterday afternoon with some of my almost reading 4-year-olds. We don't usually use chalkboards, so that in itself was very new and exciting. I named and then placed four cvc objects at the top of each child's little chalkboard. I told them, "I'm thinking about one of your objects. I'm going to give you a clue to help you figure out which one I'm thinking about." The children really enjoyed this - we played it over and over with great success. They also enjoyed writing the word I had written with chalk... although, I have a feeling they enjoyed the erasing part even more! :)


We played a slightly different variation of yesterday's game today. Instead of placing the objects at the top of the board, I had each child close his or her eyes. Then, I hid a different object for each of them in my pocket (I was only playing with 2 or 3 children at a time). I proceeded to give each of them a written clue just like I had yesterday. They LOVED this game! The anticipation over whether or not what was in my pocket was what they thought was written on their boards was nearly through the roof!


Having no objects to look at made this game really abstract and challenging - just right for the almost-readers. :) I loved watching and listening to their word-decoding skills in action!

Feel free to share any games or activities you do with your almost-readers. I would love to learn some new ones!

it's-finally-winter hat #2

I just finished my second cable-knit hat of the season , and I think I actually like it better than the first. Hmmm... maybe it's the buttons - I'm a sucker for cute buttons. Anyway, it's kept me very warm on the playground this week, as-well-as in our heatless house (don't worry, though, we finally got the pilot light lit today). I wish I knew how to explain knitting well enough to post about it - maybe someday!

pumpkin sewing

pumpkin sewing

I feel like I've dropped the ball a little bit this year when it comes to sewing... but, as of yesterday afternoon and today, I feel like everything is getting back on track! Prior to the first day of school, I had set a basket of lacing cards on one of the shelves meant for activities that the children didn't have to have an "official lesson from a teacher" to use. So, they waited, amidst puzzles and baskets of blocks for the children to use them. For the first couple weeks of school, they were actually used quite frequently, but then the novelty wore off, and the children discovered more exciting things like pink towers and mirror washing. As for me, I had actually forgotten how satisfying sewing is to children!


Yesterday afternoon, I got out the pumpkin sewing lesson I had prepared, and presented it to one of my little students. As she sewed her pumpkin, a crowd of silent onlookers quickly formed. After she had finished, the children who had been watching each took their own turn with the lesson. This may sound scandalous to you other Montessori teachers, but I actually never got up from the table! One child after another sat down with me, watched my presentation, and sewed a pumpkin. This went on for nearly the entire work period!





This morning, they were back at it! Threading needles. Sewing pumpkins. There is definitely something meditative about the repetition of sewing. Not to mention, sewing takes excellent precision and fine motor control. :) I'm excited that the children are all so excited - it means I've satisfied a need for many of them. Next week, I might just put out sewing button eyes on a felt jack-o-lantern. Some of them are ready for it!

eee-hee-hee-hee-heeeee!!!!!

the pumpkins and the witch

5 little pumpkins sitting on a fence,
a witch came flying by!
eee-hee-hee-hee-heeee!
I'll take you and make some pumpkin pie!

(then there were, 4, 3, 2, 1, etc...)

0 pumpkins sitting on a fence,
a witch came flying by!
eee-hee-hee-hee-heeee!
eating pumpkin pie!

I got the wonderful idea to use manipulatives during my circle time fingerplays from Laura at My Montessori Journey! For the pumpkins and the witch, I cut shapes out of felt and then hot-glued them to a piece cardboard. The witch's hair is yellow mohair, and her broom is a shish-kebab stick with white yarn hot-glued to one end. Next, I hot-glued round magnets to the back of each piece. The black background that the magnets stick to is just a metal tray from a toaster oven - I don't think it had been used for cooking, so it was a good find!



The children already know this particular fingerplay by heart, so they were really excited about the manipulatives. It was like one of their favorite Halloween stories had finally come to life - a total concrete experience. They counted the pumpkins like they had never counted them before! :) Thanks, Laura!

Montessori the Grate

I'm not sure if grating lessons are typically part of the Montessori curriculum, but they are a HIT at my school. The children literally beg us teachers to present these lessons, and they get lots of use during every work period. I love grating lessons because they require organization and problem solving, and they combine many of the skills acquired from the beginning practical life lessons. The children love them because they are exciting, and they provide a tangible product. :)

Bread Grating

Materials:

• stale bread (place slices of bread on a cookie pan in a warm oven for a couple hours)
• grater with a bottom for catching crumbs
  
• spoon
• bag for crumbs
• brush and pan for "crumbing" table and chair

The child grates bread across the grater, and when he's satisfied with the amount of crumbs in the container, he spoons them into a bag. The stale bread makes a really great sound against the grater, and crumbs fly EVERYWHERE! But, stay calm... the second part of this lesson involves lots of thorough sweeping. I mean, we get down on our hands and knees and peer around for stray crumbs. :) Before, we go on a sweep-a-thon, it's really important to decide what the child is going to use the crumbs for - that way, he'll have something to look forward to after all the hard work. Feeding them to the birds and saving them to put on a salad (or mom's salad) are favorite choices in our classroom.

Soap Grating

Materials:

• large bowl
• large pitcher
• upright grater
• soap on dish (plain Ivory works well, but it has to be dried out)
• eggbeater
• scrub brush
• drying cloth

The child first grates soap into the bottom of the bowl. Then, she fills the pitcher with warm water. Half the warm water will be used for making soap suds, the other half will be saved for the clean-up. The child then uses the eggbeater to whip the soap into suds. With the right amount of soap, warm water, and determination, a child can make an astounding amount of bubbles. When the child is satisfied that her water is sudsy enough, she pours it into the tub we use to wash our snack dishes. The rest of the lesson involves cleaning up. The child pours fresh water into the bowl and uses the scrub brush to wash the grater, the eggbeater, the soap dish, and the ring around the bowl.

Bread grating and soap grating are always out on the practical life shelves, but, seasonally, we also grate crayons, cinnamon, carrots, etc. Actually, a lemon or lime zesting lesson sounds fun, doesn't it? Happy grating!

ski day #1

hiked to pierre's knob @ bridger bowl

I've decided to keep track of all my ski days this season on Itty Bitty Love!

october... quite possibly the new january

a halloween paper story...

Once upon a time, there was little witch who lived along the banks of Sourdough Creek (the creek near our school). She was so tiny, she was actually shorter than my pinkie finger. The little witch spent the whole summer hiking along the trail, swimming in the creek, and camping under the stars. Life was grand for the little witch, but then the days started to grow shorter... and the summer began to turn into fall. One morning, the little witch woke up, quite uncomfortably, to frost on the tip of her hat and a very cold wind blowing down from the mountains. She struggled through the wind and blowing leaves, searching disparately for a place to snuggle up and keep warm.

Whoosh! An orange piece of paper came swirling from the sky and landed in front of the little witch. She started to walk around it, when suddenly she got an idea... Maybe I can use this piece of paper to build myself a house!

The little witch quickly got to work, and folded the piece of paper in half. Hmmm... this looks right, but the top of my house is missing something... I know! A roof!

The little witch cut the corners of the paper off to make a roof. There! Much better! She went around to the front of her new house and tried to walk inside. Oops! This house is missing something... I know! A door!
The little witch cut a door out of one side of the house. She even gave it a little point, so her hat would fit through. Much better! She walked inside her new house. Oh my! It's so dark in here! I can't see anything... I know! I need a window!
The little witch quickly cut a window out of the other side of her house. Much better! The little witch felt very warm and cozy in her new house. She went to her window to watch the storm outside. Oh, it's windy out there! Wait! Who's that? Why, I think it's my friend, Ladybug!

The little witch hurried outside to invite her friend in. Together, they cut a little door just for Ladybug to use. They spent the whole winter warm and safe in their house, happily sipping hot cocoa and playing checkers. Do you know what their house really was?

It was a jack-o-lantern! The End. :)

let it snow...

walking through my pumpkin patch...

Yesterday was our autumn adventure to the pumpkin patch. Other than being cold and windy (but, at least not snowy - that came later!), it was a fun and festive experience for the children, as-well-as for all of us adults :)

we rode on a tractor-pulled hay wagon

searched for pumpkins

hidden among dried-out cornstalks

and made our way home

to celebrate our shiny, orange treasures!

Here's a fun pumpkin patch song/game that I'm still trying to fine-tune. I played it at circle time with 9 Kindergartners yesterday afternoon, but I'm not sure how it will go with 20 preschoolers...

First, I had all the children curl-up in the middle of the circle like pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. I walked around them singing (the tune is kind of like "Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow"):

walking through my pumpkin patch, walking through my pumpkin patch, pumpkins ripe, pumpkins round, orange pumpkins on the ground...

I tapped a child on her back and sang (I really don't know how to describe this tune... it's higher and faster than the first part):

a pumpkin ran away, it was on a beautiful day, said he they'll make a pie of me if I should stay

Then I sat down on the line, and the child I tapped took a turn walking though the pumpkin patch. The children really wanted to run when they were tapped - I had them do a sort of tiptoe-skip around the outside of the "pumpkin patch." This would potentially get crazy with 10 more children in the mix! Hmmm... I'm going to give it a try on Monday.